Uttar Pradesh: Naseemuddin, Kushwaha among 19 booked in memorial scam

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati's close aide Naseemuddin Siddiqui and former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha were among 19 people, who were booked on Wednesday for their alleged role in Rs 1,400 crore scam in construction of Dalit memorials and parks in Uttar Pradesh.

Along with two former BSP ministers, former joint director of mining SA Farooqui, former managing director of Rajkiya Nirmaan Nigam CP Singh and 15 engineers have also been named in the FIR, police sources said in Lucknow.

The FIR was registered at Gomti Nagar police station by vigilance inspector Ram Naresh Rathore.

On December 5 last year, the UP government had given nod to lodge cases against 21 people, including Siddiqui and Kushwaha in connection with the alleged scam in construction of memorials in the name of Dalit icons during the previous BSP regime.

Besides the two ministers, officials of Rajkiya Nirman Nigam and others were indicted by Lokayukta NK Mehrotra in his report submitted in May last year.

The Lokayukta had indicted 199 persons, including the two ministers, a sitting MLA, several officers and engineers for the alleged irregularities.

In his report, the Lokayukta had said that irregularities to the tune of more than Rs 1,400 crore were detected which was 34 percent of the total budget for construction of memorials and parks.

The Lokayukta had recommended filing of FIRs under the Prevention of Corruption Act and under section 409 of the IPC (criminal breach of trust by public servant) against 19 persons.

For the remaining persons indicted in the report, the Lokayukta recommended that their properties be probed and if these were found disproportionate to their known sources of income, FIRs should also be lodged against them.

Both the ministers are also facing charges of acquiring assets disproportionate to their known source of income.

The UP government has also given nod for vigilance inquiry against them in July last year.